Filtered resources appraise the quality of studies and often make recommendations for practice.
Authors of a systematic review ask a specific clinical question, perform a comprehensive literature search, eliminate the poorly done studies and attempt to make practice recommendations based on the well-done studies. A meta-analysis is a systematic review that combines all the results of all the studies into a single statistical analysis of results.
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Consists of detailed, structured topic reviews of hundreds of articles. Teams of experts complete comprehensive literature reviews, evaluate the literature, and present summaries of the findings of the best studies. Published by the International Cochrane Collaboration.brary.wiley.com/o/cochrane/cochrane_search_fs.html
Systematic Reviews are also searchable in MEDLINE:
In MEDLINE: Enter your search query; Scroll down to the check box EBM (Evidence Based Medicine). Click in check box.
The Joanna Briggs EBP (Evidence-Based Practice) Database contains evidence summaries and systematic reviews (as well as patient information handouts and other content). Based in Australia but not limited to Australian content, it also contains evidence-based material aimed at nursing practice, and much of the content contains best practice recommendations.
Authors of critically-appraised individual articles evaluate and synopsize individual research studies.
The editors of this journal screen the top 100+ clinical journals and identify studies that are methodologically sound and clinically relevant. An enhanced abstract, with conclusions clearly stated, and a commentary are provided for each selected article. Published by the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine.
Check the Library's ejournals list for multiple subscriptions.
Quality articles from over 110 clinical journals are selected by research staff, and then rated for clinical relevance and interest by an international group of physicians. Includes a searchable database of the best evidence from the medical literature and an email alerting system. From BMJ Publishing Group and McMaster University's Health Information Research Unit. Register online and start searching.
"Evidence-Based" Journal series
(e.g., Evidence-Based Medicine, Evidence-Based Mental Health, Evidence-Based Nursing) Primary research articles within the discipline are selected for quality and clinical relevance. A structured abstract and expert commentary are provided for each study.
Check the Library's ejournals list for multiple subscriptions.
Evidence is not always available via filtered resources. Searching the primary literature may be required. It is possible to use specific search strategies in MEDLINE and other databases to achieve the highest possible level of evidence.
To limit your PubMed search to the best evidence-producing studies: Click on "clinical queries" (on the left side of the screen). This specialized search is intended for clinicians and has built-in search "filters." Four study categories--therapy, diagnosis, etiology, prognosis--are provided, and you may indicate whether you wish your search to be more sensitive (i.e., include most relevant articles but probably including some less relevant ones) or more specific (i.e., including mostly relevant articles but probably omit a few).
International coverage of the professional and academic literature in psychology, medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, and other areas.
To limit your PsycINFO search to the best evidence-producing studies: Click on the "Limits" icon to use "Clinical Queries" or limit to "methodology" types.
To limit your CINAHL search to the best evidence-producing studies: Click on the "Limits" icon to use "Clinical Queries" or limit to "Research" or other "publication" types (i.e., systematic review).
Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (Oxford University)
The Centre promotes evidence-based health care and provide support and resources to anyone who wants to make use of them. Includes the EBM Toolbox, an assortment of materials which are very useful for practitioners of EBM, and EBM Teaching Materials, including PowerPoint presentations.
Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (Canada based)
Includes many resources for practicing and teaching EBM
Alberta Research Centre for Health Evidence
Contains links to recent publications published by the ARCHE team.
Introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine
From Duke University Medical Center Library and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Health Sciences Library.
EBM Pyramid and EBM Page Generator. (c) Copyright 2006-2011. Trustees of Dartmouth College and Yale University. All Rights Reserved.
Produced by Jan Glover, David Izzo, Karen Odato and Lei Wang.
Need to critically appraise a randomized controlled trial or a systematic review?
Critical appraisal checklists can be found at:
Useful ebook:
Useful article on appraising qualitative research articles:
Côté, L. (2005). Appraising qualitative research articles in medicine and medical education.
This database (formerly Turning Research Into Practice) is useful for finding evidence-based material, including:
Not all evidence is created equal